The next one month was torture. Every day I woke up and wanted to check the competition website. They'd said one month, checking obsessively wouldn't make the results come faster.
I threw myself into work, made more jewellery pieces, built up inventory for Siren Gem, and most importantly played the part of perfect wife of Asher Wang while keeping Serena Lin completely hidden from him.
Maya checked in every few days through messages on my burner phone.
"Any news yet?"
"Not yet. Still waiting."
"You okay?"
Was I okay? I was living a double life. Sleeping next to a man who'd destroyed my family, planning revenge while pretending everything was fine, building a business he thought is just a hobby.
"I'm surviving." I typed back.
"That's all you need to do. Survive until you can thrive."
